Seeing the World through Jesus-Colored Glasses, Part 2

What are the practical implications of the unity Paul urges us to have in Ephesians 4:1-16? What is a worthy manner of walking? Paul doesn’t just leave us hanging here, but gives us further instructions on how we are to proceed. Walking in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called involves five things: 1) being humble, 2) being gentle, 3) being patient, 4) showing forbearance to one another in love, and 5) being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2, 3).

Being humble, or having humility, means lowering myself and lifting others up. It’s the same thought that Paul had when he told the Philippians to “regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3). This all sounds good, but there’s a problem. When we look at this humility thing through the worldly glasses of “reality” (and I use that term advisedly) our automatic (preprogrammed) response is, “I’m not going to humble myself! If I put me down, who will lift me up?” It’s only when we put on our Jesus-colored glasses that we see true reality. James says when we humble ourselves, God will lift us up (James 4:10).

Gentleness is that quality of being forgiving, kind, and benevolent. It’s the same word that Jesus uses in the Beatitudes when He says, “Blessed are the meek (gentle) for they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). William Barclay says of this word that behind gentleness “there is the strength of steel, for the man who is [gentle] is under perfect control…he is perfectly God-controlled, for only God can give him that perfect mastery. It should be our prayer that God will make us [gentle], masters of ourselves; for only then can we be servants of others.”

Patience is that two-edged sword that is a desired trait, but its acquisition is despised. In other words, while we all want to be patient, few are willing to endure that which is necessary to acquire patience. Much of the concept of patience has to do with “putting up with” a particular situation. It’s the idea of enduring unpleasant circumstances, whether they be deserved or not. Most people will pick and choose the circumstances in which they will be patient. We decide whether a particular situation deserves patience or not and we act accordingly. Scripture, however, is not as selective. It never says, “Choose that about which you will be patient.” While the Bible does give some examples where patience is needed (Matthew 5:10-12), it also says we should be patient with every negative situation (James 1:2-4). The point is this: If you will have patience in every situation, you will be stronger, you will be more mature, and you will be well on your way to what God wants you to be. Jesus is our Example of patience (1 Peter 2:19-24). If we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, we must “put up with” whatever negative situation we encounter, for the simple reason that Jesus did and we’re trying to look at the world from His perspective.

Showing forbearance to one another in love is a trait which is essentially the same as having patience. In fact, they may not be separate at all, but part of the same statement. The reason we forbear one another and have patience with each other is not for our gain, but because of our love for one another. This love leads us toward the next characteristic of the worthy walk.

Preserving the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace requires a real effort. It requires diligence, meaning it doesn’t just happen. Christians are united in one family (1 Timothy 3:15) and one body (Colossians 1:18). If we are truly united in the body of Christ, we will forbear one another in love with patience because we don’t want this body to be damaged. If it’s true that Satan’s kingdom divided against itself could not stand (Matthew 12:25, 26), it’s also true of the kingdom of God. The worthy walk involves keeping this unity alive in the church. Failing to be united, failing to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace within the body, is to walk in an unworthy manner.

Make this a priority in your life and know that you can succeed because God loves you and so, by the way, do I.

Donnie Bates

Seeing the World through Jesus-Colored Glasses, Part 1

[The three lessons in the following short series come from a series of lessons that I preached many years ago and are not to be confused with other articles of the same (or similar) titles by other authors. - djb]

A good example of the different views through these glasses is the comment Jesus made in Matthew 22:36-40 in response to a question concerning the Old Law: “‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." The religious leaders of the day had never considered love as the basis of the Law of Moses. Even today, we consider the basis of the Old Law to be, well…law. That’s what the Law meant, right? It was a list of physical requirements for everyday life. It didn’t involve the spiritual side of man, did it?

What the Jews didn’t understand, and what we still don’t seem to understand, is that God has always directed His efforts toward the hearts of mankind. Jesus said it plainly: the basis of the Law was love. He was even more specific in Matthew 5:21-48. When Jesus went up on that mountain in Galilee, He preached a sermon so simple that we usually overlook its significance. These three chapters (Matthew 5-7) give us a summary of what God expects of us. Most of us have heard of the Sermon on the Mount. We teach our children to memorize the Beatitudes. We’re familiar with the Lord’s Prayer and at least the young people know the song, “Seek Ye First…” And everyone knows “Judge not that ye be not judged…” (And if you don’t think everyone knows that verse, just see how many times it gets quoted when someone is criticized.) But we don’t really seem to understand the Sermon. In the last 28 verses of Matthew 5, Jesus addressed misconceptions of the Old Law. He told His audience that all of those physical requirements were designed to create a spiritual attitude. By emphasizing only the physical, the religious leaders had substantially weakened the Law. For example, when God said, “Thou shalt not kill,” Jesus said He meant, “You don’t kill your neighbor, you love him!” What man had done was add a legal consequence for one’s actions, making it a completely physical law. In effect, the law now read: “Do not kill your neighbor, but you can think anything you want about him.”

If we’re going to see the world through Jesus-colored glasses, we’re going to have to re-read the Sermon on the Mount and then start living it. When Christianity begins to transform an individual, his influence on all of society is changed. Thus, seeing the world through Jesus-colored glasses is not a private affair.

When today’s modern fighter plane takes off for action, several on-board computers constantly check the speed and attitude of the craft in order to keep the tremendous aerodynamic forces involved from ripping the plane to pieces. Only constant re-evaluation and adjustment keep the plane in the air. Is the Christian life any different? So often these high-performance jet fighters (our spiritual lives) are left flying with no one at the controls and when the on-board computer (the Word of God implanted, James 1:21) gives a course correction and attitude change, no one is there to make the adjustment and a precious soul flies into a mountain and is lost forever. Constant self-examination and constant self-realignment with the standard is the only thing that will keep us in the air.

It is my sincere hope and prayer that in this coming week, you will check in frequently with the Word of God and make the adjustments you need to match up with the pattern of sound doctrine found in the Holy Scriptures and thus enjoy the blessings of fellowship in God’s grace. That fellowship is available to you no matter what happens that tries to throw you off course, because God loves you. And so, by the way, do I.

Donnie Bates